Iga Swiatek’s tactics questioned by ex-stars after opening round Australian Open win
Iga Swiatek started her campaign at the 2026 Australian Open with a hard-fought win against Yuan Yue, and she left tennis pundits surprised with her approach to the match.
The six-time Grand Slam winner overcame Yuan, a 130th-ranked Chinese qualifier, 7-6(5), 6-3 in just under two hours on Rod Laver Arena.
Swiatek landed 24 winners and also committed 35 unforced errors — 21 of which came during an opening set she narrowly won after she was twice a break down, with Yuan having led 5-3 and served for the set.
The world No 2 jumped to a 3-0 double break lead in the second set, but she still had to work hard to finish off her 27-year-old opponent.
The 24-year-old Pole is vying to win her maiden Australian Open title, which would see her complete the career Grand Slam.
What did Iga Swiatek say after her opening round win?
Following her victory against Yuan, Swiatek said: “I started a bit tense so I needed to get my legs moving and go after my shots.
“I just needed to react a bit quicker and not be pushed back and really go for it. It wasn’t perfect, but that’s why I am happy, because it’s not hard to win matches when everything is going well. Today it wasn’t and I managed to win so that’s good.”
What did tennis analysts say about Iga Swiatek’s performance?
Speaking on TNT Sports, former British No 1 Anne Keothavong questioned Swiatek’s highly aggressive approach early in the match.
“I didn’t think it was ever going to be an upset, but I was surprised with how Swiatek started and how she approached the match and wanted to hit the cover off every ball,” said the former world No 48.
“I feel with her, it doesn’t have to be so big and brash at the start of every match. We see her at the start of matches — the speed is so much faster in the first three or four games than the rest of the match. She attempts to bulldoze her opponents and outhit them.”
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Tim Henman, a former world No 4, also felt that Swiatek made life difficult for herself by committing a high number of unforced errors in the opening games.
“With so many players, it’s trying to find the balance between control and aggression,” said the six-time Grand Slam semi-finalist.
“When you are playing well you can take the shot on and you are feeling confident, but when you are not playing quite so well you have to find that balance and play with a bit more patience and give yourself more margin.
“It’s almost like she wants to send a message to the whole tournament about how well she is playing from the word go, but the reality is she only has to be better than one person today and that was Yuan.
“And because she made unforced errors to begin with, she makes life difficult and she did well to win that first set and win in straight sets, but giving herself a bit more margin would help her settle in a bit quicker.”
Who will Iga Swiatek play next?
Swiatek will face world No 44 Marie Bouzkova in the second round after the 27-year-old Czech downed 80th-ranked Renata Zarazua in the first round.
The former world No 1 won both of her previous matches against Bouzkova.
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